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Saturday, January 30, 2016

Pulingari is tamarind based gravy that is served along steamed
rice and thoran/poriyal. I have already posted 2 variations of this pulingari
which I prepare regularly at home – the Podi Podicha Pulingari and the
Navarathri Pulingari. This Pulingari is different in the ground paste and also
it uses Karamani.

I came across this recipe in one of the FB groups, posted by
Lalitha Iyer. This tasted really good with rice. Even the kids enjoyed it. It
was a welcome change from the regular kootans that I prepare. Do try it and let
me know how you liked it.

Serves – 3 to 4

What you’ll need

Vazhakkai – 2 cup, diced into small cubes

Karamani/Thatta Payaru/Cowpeas – ½ cup

Tamarind – a small lemon sized ball

Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp

Jaggery – 1 tsp (optional)

Asafoetida – a generous pinch

Salt to taste

Curry Leaves – 5 to 6

To Grind

Coconut – ½ cup, tightly packed

Dried Red Chilly – 2 or 3 (adjust according to taste)

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

To Temper

Coconut Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp

Urad Dal – ½ tsp

Curry Leaves – 10 to 15 leaves

Method

Soak the Karamani for about 10 mins in water and then
pressure cook the karamani with just enough water.

Also pressure cook or steam the vazhakkai pieces with little
turmeric powder and salt. Don’t add too much water to this.

Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of water, squeeze and extract the
pulp and discard the fibers. Add another cup of water to this and make it
around 2 cups.

Transfer the tamarind extract into a vessel, add turmeric
powder, asafoetida, salt and jaggery, if using and few curry leaves. Once it starts boiling add the
vazhakkai pieces and karamani and let it boil for 6 to 8 minutes or till the
raw smell of the tamarind disappears.

In the meantime, grind the coconut along with the red chilly
and cumin seeds, into a smooth paste using about ½ cup of water.

Add this ground paste to the boiling tamarind and vegetable
mixture, add more water if required to adjust the consistency. Should be slightly thicker than the Sambar.
Simmer for couple of minutes.

Remove from heat.

Heat a small frying pan with oil, add mustard seeds, once
they splutter add urad dal and fry till they turn golden brown, add the curry
leaves and pour the tempering over the pulingari.

Delicious pulingari is ready.

Serve alongwith steamed white rice and Keerai masiyal or
with any thoran/poriyal.

Note:

You can cook the vazhakkai pieces in the tamarind water. I pressure cooked it.

Don't use too much water to pressure cook the Karamani and vazhakkai pieces. If there is too much water, then reserve the water and add to the pulingari if required at the end, else the pulingari will become very watery.

The jaggery is optional, I used it as it balances out the tang from the tamarind.

Using coconut oil for tempering gives a good flavor, but you can use any regular vegetable oil too.

Monday, January 25, 2016

I was never a fan of Sambar Sadam and rarely prepared it at
home. But after tasting the Sambar Sadam which was given as prasadam in the
Guruvayoorappan temple in Nanganallur, I started liking it. The prasadam we got
in the temple was really delicious, spicy, with a lovely flavor of nalla ennai
(gingely oil). I asked my MIL to get me the recipe for the sadam from the
person who prepared it in the temple. He also shared it happily. And from then,
sambar sadam has been a regular in my kitchen. Tastes best when served along
with urulaikizhangu Kara Curry and some chips or vadams. Do try it and let me
know how it turned out.

For regular updates from the blog, please follow me on
Facebook - Palakkad Chamayal. Do share the pictures of recipes tried from the blog, would be glad to share them on my page.

What you’ll need

Rice – 1 cup

Tuar Dal – 1/3 cup

Tamarind – a small lemon sized ball

Jaggery – 2 tsp (optional)

Shallots/Chinna Vengayam – ¾ cup, peeled

Tomato – 1, finely chopped

Carrot – 1 Medium, diced

Potato – 1 Medium, diced

Drumstick – 2, cut into finger sized pieces

Green Peas – ¼ cup

Green chilly – 1 or 2, slit

To roast and grind

Channa Dal – 1 tbsp

Coriander Seeds – 1.5 tbsp

Fenugreek Seeds – ¼ tsp

Dried Red Chilly – 2 to 3 (increase or decrease according to
taste)

Scraped fresh Coconut – 2 tbsp (optional)

Asafoetida – a small piece

Oil – 1 tsp

To temper

Oil – 2 tbsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp

Curry Leaves - few

Method

Pressure cook the rice and dal separately for 3 whistles.
Mash the rice and dal lightly and keep aside.

Soak the tamarind in hot water for 10 minutes. Squeeze and
extract the pulp and discard the waste. The tamarind extract should be around
2.5 cups. Add water to make this quantity.

Heat a Kadai with a tsp of oil, add the asafoetida, once it
puffs up, add the channa dal and on medium flame, once it starts changing
color, add the coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds and fry finally add the red
chillies and fry till the dal has turned nice golden brown and a good aroma
wafts through. Add the scraped coconut and fry for a minute. Remove from heat
and allow to cool. Grind to a powder and keep aside. Take care not to burn the
spices while frying, else the taste will change.

Heat a big Kadai, with 2 tbsp oil and half of the ghee for tempering. Add the
mustard seeds, once they splutter add the curry leaves and slit green chillies.

Add the onions and fry till they turn translucent, then add
the chopped tomatoes and sauté till they turn mushy.

Add in all the vegetables, turmeric powder and sauté for a
minute, cover and cook until the vegetables are partially cooked.

Now add the tamarind extract, salt and jaggery. Let this
boil until the vegetables are completely cooked but not mushy.

Add the ground spice mixture and mix well.

Now add the cooked rice and dal, check for salt and add if
required. Mix well and remove from heat. Drizzle with ghee at the end and mix
well.

Let it be of slightly lose consistency, as the rice will
thicken on cooling.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Vazhakkai can be
cooked in many different ways. You could prepare a simple thoran, or use it in combination
with yam or use it in kootu or kuzhambu. But this vegetable is not liked much
by my kids, so I don’t prepare it often. This week when I went to the market I
saw some really fresh vazhakkai and picked up a few of them. I remembered this
curry which my mother makes using freshly ground spices. It is slightly on the
spicier side but tastes great even when paired with a simple rasam.

Next add the channa
dal, and fry next add the black pepper and coriander seeds and finally the
cumin seeds and dried red chilly. Fry everything till the dal changes to golden
brown and a nice aroma starts coming.

Transfer to a plate,
cool and grind to a coarse powder, set aside.

In the same Kadai,
add the oil for tempering, temper with mustard seeds, then add the urad dal and
fry till golden, add the curry leaves and the chopped Vazhakkai pieces.

Add turmeric powder
and salt to taste. Mix well, sprinkle some water and cook covered on low heat.

Keep stirring once
in a while and sprinkle more water as and when required.

Once the vazhakkai is
cooked, remove the lid, and fry for a few minutes on medium heat.

Finally add the
ground powder and mix well.

Serve warm with
white rice and Mor Kuzhambu, or Rasam.

Note:

Adjust the quantity
of red chilly and black pepper according to your spice tolerance level

Cut the vazhakkai in
any desired shape, I have sliced it into pices of medium thickness. Don’t keep
the pieces too thick, it may take a long time to cook. Don’t slice too thin
also, as it will turn mushy.

Always, keep the
vazhakkai pieces immersed in water to which a spoon of buttermilk is added.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Erissery is a very popular and
traditional dish. No feast of Sadya is complete without this dish. Erissery is
a delicious blend of vegetables simmered in a ground coconut paste with the flavors
of black pepper and cumin. And finally tempered in coconut oil and topped with
more roasted coconut. The aroma of coconut oil, roasted coconut and curry
leaves is intoxicating. I just love the aroma that wafts through my kitchen
while this dish gets cooked.

Kayum Chenayum or Plantains and Yam
are a popular combination of vegetables used for this erissery. Other vegetables
that are commonly used are Yam alone, Jackfruit and Pumpkin in combination with
Red Chowri Beans. My favorite definitely is this plantain and yam combination.
The Nendrankai is preferred, but if you can’t find that then feel free to make
use of the regular raw banana.